20 Facts About Darden Restaurants

1.

Darden Restaurants, Inc is an American multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Orlando.

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2.

William Darden Restaurants opened his first restaurant, The Green Frog, in Waycross, Georgia in 1938 at age 19.

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3.

Darden Restaurants later founded the Red Lobster Inns of America and opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida in 1968.

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4.

Darden Restaurants chose Lakeland because he wished to see how a seafood restaurant would fare in a non-coastal region, and Lakeland was the innermost city in Florida.

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5.

In 1975, when Darden was promoted to Vice President of General Mills, Joseph R Lee, the company's first restaurant manager, was promoted as President of Red Lobster.

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6.

Darden Restaurants underwent several restructurings and transformed itself from an inexpensive fast-food seller into a chain of casual dining seafood restaurants by 1988.

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7.

In 1982, Darden Restaurants opened the first Olive Garden concept restaurant in Orlando.

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8.

Darden Restaurants eventually became the largest chain of Italian-themed full-service restaurants in the United States.

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9.

Darden Restaurants was spun off from General Mills beginning on May 9,1995, when it began trading on the when-issued basis at $9.

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10.

Darden Restaurants became a fully separate entity on May 31,1995, when its shares went on sale on the NYSE.

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11.

Darden Restaurants executives planned to have two additional chains in place by 1998.

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12.

In March 1996, Darden Restaurants launched a test of a Bahama Breeze Caribbean Grille concept featuring food and drinks found in the islands of the Caribbean Sea and a Caribbean theme.

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13.

Darden Restaurants then began testing a new concept entitled Smokey Bones BBQ Sports Bar that opened in late 1999 in Orlando.

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14.

Darden Restaurants announced in January 2007 that the company was willing to expand by purchasing existing 100-location chains or even considering franchisors.

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15.

In January 2011, Darden Restaurants announced co-locating their Olive Garden and Red Lobster brands in smaller markets to share kitchen but continue separate menus and eating areas.

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16.

On December 23,2013, Darden Restaurants's stock rose 3 percent after activist investor Starboard Value, a hedge fund, took a stake in the company.

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17.

On December 19,2013, Darden Restaurants announced plans to sell or spin off the Red Lobster brand, citing pressure from stock investors.

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18.

On May 12,2014, Darden Restaurants announced that as part of the spinoff of Red Lobster, it was converting the co-located Red Lobster and Olive Garden locations into standalone Olive Garden locations.

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19.

On May 16,2014, Darden Restaurants announced it would be selling the Red Lobster seafood restaurant chain to Golden Gate Capital for US$2.

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20.

Darden Restaurants announced the completion of the sale of Red Lobster on July 28,2014.

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